What it means to Protect - Collar x Malice
by kmacl1994
Summary: This is a Collar x Malice fic taking place 2 years after Takeru's Blighted Love Ending. Zero has not been captured and the threat of Adonis still remains. 2 years after preventing the x-day attacks, Hoshino is once again thrown into the investigation with the same old team. Can they finally take down Adonis for good? YanagixHoshino, HoshinoxSasazuka. note:major spoilers
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hoshino awoke with a start and instinctively clutched at her neck, feeling not the metallic cool of a collar, but a delicate chain necklace. She ran her fingers over the pendant, a melancholy look on her face.

 _"It was only a dream."_

It would be foolish for Sasazuka to come back. It's been 2 years and he left without telling anyone or saying anything. Apparently he was reassigned somewhere in America but even that we're unsure of. The only indication he was ever here in the first place being the dainty necklace that hung at her neck.

Defeated, Hoshino sank back into the sheets. The scent of coffee and tobacco overwhelmed her but it wasn't an unpleasant smell, instead it brought her a strange comfort. She felt protected and safe. Yanagi, had always been there for her. A silent and careful observer. So it was only a matter of time that their companionship blossomed into romance. Over the past 2 years they'd gotten closer and now Hoshino's heart swelled whenever her mind fluttered in his direction. He helped take away her sorrow, he was her protector.

Hoshino peered over, the glare of the alarm clock telling her that she could go back to sleep but there would really be no point. She had work in 3 hours anyways.

 _"Yanagi must've already left for work."_ she thought. Though he wasn't in the force anymore he had opened up his own private investigation firm and was always busy. Between both their schedules they never really had time off together.

Begrudgingly, Hoshino got up and strode over to the kitchen table, as per usual Yanagi had left her some breakfast and a little good-morning note. Hoshino smirked to herself before chowing down and getting ready for her day.

She'd come a long way since X-day, both as a person and in her career. Her hand in solving the incidents promoted her upwards in the ranks, much to Mochida's dismay – though he was encouraging about it. She now worked in Section 1 alongside Morioka and Minegishi, they had scouted her with the hopes of using her as a crisis negotiator. At first, Hoshino was worried about her performance. Yet she was quite good at talking to people, and had solved numerous cases non-violently so she grew confident over-time and even earned the respect of her peers. As such, she was always busy.

Yet there were times when she couldn't help but wonder.

Though the X-day incidents were solved and the membership disbanned, the leader Zero, was no where to be found. Hoshino had the feeling he'd be back, but didn't know when. And that thought terrified her.

A small pat on her head drew her from her daydream. "Hey, Hoshino!"

A familiar voice. A friendly voice, Saeki.

She turned to see his beaming smile as he drew his hand back into a small wave. "I've been calling out to you for the past minute. You alright?"

Hoshino nodded and smiled back to reassure him. "Yeah, just daydreaming."

Saeki furrowed his brow in a way that told Hoshino he didn't quite buy it. Then he got a mischievous glint in his eye. "I know! Let's you and I go out for drinks after your shift tonight." He spoke with such longing that it was hard to deny him, and drinks actually sounded pretty good.

"Alright, that sounds like fun. I'll text you when I'm off." Hoshino said, reciprocating a large smile for her friend before trotting off with a small wave. "See you later!"

Her shift went by slowly, the thing about being a negotiator is that you really only get your moment once in a while – whenever a crisis happens. Lately, and thankfully, Shinjuku had been pretty safe as of late meaning the only real work Hoshino had was the stack of case files overflowing her desk.

Needless to say, her shift dragged by, and by the end of it she was quite thirsty.

After packing up, she shot a quick message to Yanagi telling him her whereabouts and made her way over to meet up with Saeki.

As per usual, Saeki was already there and already a few drinks in, wobbling slightly in his seat.

"Hoshino~"

"Hey Saeki!" Hoshino greeted, sitting down across from him and ordering a drink from the server.

They chatted away the hours as old friends do, drinking freely until they were both belligerent. Yet as soon as the topic turned towards her active duty job, Saeki's mood turned rather sad. Probably from the drink.

"You're so pure, Hoshino" Saeki suddenly blurted, a small scowl on his face that confused Hoshino slightly.

"Thanks?"

"You're the only person I know that goes so far for people, to protect them." Saeki nodded to himself, as if confirming his statement. "Pure and Selfless." Yet, the words didn't necessarily sound happy.

Hoshino blushed and took a sip of her drink, averting her friend's eyes.

As if noting the irregularity in speech, Saeki's eyes widened before returning to his regular carefree smile.

"Sorry Hoshino, guess I've just been down lately. I've hit a lot of roadblocks, but I'm determined to come back!" Saeki said, grinning and delving into his beer.

"Good! I'll cheer you on, Saeki!" Hoshino grinned, clanking his glass in cheers before taking a swig herself. "I know works been tough on you lately, but you'll persevere, you've got more heart than anyone I know."

Saeki smiled to himself, "Thanks."

After mulling back into idle conversation, the two shared a few more drinks before deciding to call it a night.

"Do you need me to walk you back?" Saeki asked, a faint slur accompanying his words.

Hoshino shook her head, which also caused her to stagger a little. "It's ok, Shinjuku is safe now. I'll just call Yanagi if I need too." His house wasn't far away anyways.

As if on cue, her phone rang.

"H-Hoshino -hic-" She answered.

There was silence for a moment before a familiar, musty voice followed. "Where are you right now?"

"Outside the… bar," Hoshino cocked her head to the side, as if Yanagi could see it. "Yanagi are you ok?"

"I'm on my way, stay there." He cut of abruptly before Hoshino heard a click.

She looked at Saeki and shrugged. "Guess I have an escort after all."

"I'll wait around with you." Saeki said, leaning against the brick of the bar.

The first thing Hoshino noticed when Yanagi appeared was that he looked tired, the second thing was that he looked rather angry.

The third thing was that he was glaring, at Saeki.

"Yanagi, are you ok?" Hoshino blurted, her voice thick with concern as she took a few steps towards him, putting distance between the two men.

Yanagi's eyes softened as they focused on Hoshino, her expression furrowed in worry. He took her hand instinctively and almost instantly calmed feeling her small, soft skin in his.

He nodded. "Yeah, It's 3 am and just wanted to make sure you'd get home safe."

Saeki piped up, "I would've walked her home."

Yanagi's eyes snapped to Saeki, it was no secret he had a dislike for him. Though no one really knew why. It was as if Yanagi knew something about him that no one else knew. Even after Hoshino had asked him about it, he played it off as merely a jealous dislike, but Hoshino had never seen this blatant hostility before with anyone else.

She put her hand on Yanagi's arm, "It's ok. I'm fine, thanks for coming to get me." She then turned to Saeki, "Thanks for inviting me out, I needed a good de-stresser. See you later!"

Seems like her mediation skills were still in working order even after a few drinks, as they both soon parted ways.

"You don't have to be so hostile to him, all the time you know." Hoshino chastised as they walked back, she was leaning against him a little bit to stabilize herself, but Yanagi didn't mind.

He put his arm around Hoshino and she was immediately overtaken by his familiar scent. "Yeah, I just get worried about you… plus," his voice got a little lower as if he was ashamed, "I'm a man too."

"What do you mean?" Hoshino gazed up at him, their faces a little apart from each other. Yanagi's breath hitched in his throat at her innocent stare before a faint blush dusted his cheeks. He looked away to the side before muttering,

"You drinking with another guy, alone." His hand squeezed her shoulder slightly. "You're mine."

Obviously, he couldn't stop her from having a few drinks with her friends, but he didn't have to like it. He mentally chastised himself at his immaturity.

Hoshino giggled to herself at his small bout of jealousy and sprang up on her toes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush further. She smelt of alcohol, but he didn't mind.

"Thanks for always protecting me, and for walking me home."

Yanagi smiled at this, and pulled her in closer.

Hoshino awoke to calloused hands rousing her shoulder and a gentle but haste whisper, "Hoshino, get up, it's urgent."

Yanagi sat beside her on the bed, his laptop on his lap in front of him. Once he had registered that Hoshino had awoke, he pressed play, a puzzled look on his face.

Immediately a familiar and eerie voice played, sending a chill down Hoshino's spine. She blinked a few times, thinking – hoping – that this was a dream.

"THE REBIRTH CANNOT BE STOPPED. WE WILL CLEANSE THE WORLD FROM EVIL AND PROVIDE A NEW HOPE."

The words opened to a room, where a man in priest garb sat on a wooden chair.

"THIS MAN, SAYS HE IS A MAN OF GOD YET HIS SINS GO UNPUNISHED."

A loud crack reverberated from the laptop speakers as the bullet penetrated the man's chest, sending crimson splatters against the far wall. The man toppled over in his chair, dead. Hoshino gasped and bunched the sheets in her hands until her knuckles turned white.

"THE REBIRTH IS COMING."

After that, the screen went blank, a familiar logo flashing across the screen. 11 MONTHS – X-DAY.

Yanagi closed the laptop and silently reached for Hoshino's hand. It was cold.

"I knew it wasn't over." Hoshino whispered, her fears filling the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hoshino fidgeted in her seat, hands idly tugging at her sweater before they were taken in warm, large hands. Yanagi flashed her a comforting smile, and she nodded back in affirmation before fixing her eyes at the faces around her.

Morioka and Enomoto sat across from them and Okazaki lounged idly beside the door. Hoshino had terrible deja-vu from most of her friends sitting around the couches of Yanagi's office. She just wished it was under better circumstance.

Morioka broke the silence. "I'm assuming you all know why you're here." Everyone nodded. _X-Day_.

"Good then that saves me explaining. I'll cut to the chase. We want you to investigate these X-Day cases. You've done it before and frankly, you did it well. You'll operate exactly how you used too but this time you can use intel from Investigation HQ." Morioka turned his gaze towards Hoshino, who visibly stiffened. "You have access, so it shouldn't be that difficult." He continued, "I don't expect you and Enomoto to continue regular active duty, so we're putting you solely on this case. Don't waste time elsewhere." Morioka then focused on Yanagi. "You're not tied down by the force, but I'm assuming we have your cooperation?" His brow rose in question.

Yanagi nodded almost instantly. "Naturally."

"Okazaki?" Morioka asked, looking in his direction.

Okazaki beamed lazily, "Of course."

"Great, it's settled. I've asked Minigeshi to bring in the case notes we have from the recent incident. He should be here soon."

"Uhm." Hoshino broke in, "I know I was present for the last incident, but I didn't really assist that much… I want to help but are you sure I won't just get in the way?"

Really, the only reason Hoshino was in the case the last time was due to her collar, she had no affiliation with these new incidents so surely, her skills could be put to use elsewhere.

Morioka shook his head. "No. you're on the case. You're a good detective." He stated with finality, yet Hoshino still tried to interrupt but was cut off by a distant and familiar voice that filled Hoshino with bubbling happiness and untameable anger all at once.

"-stupid cat. If you aren't working the case it won't get solved. Regardless if you're collared or not, the key to finding the leader is figuring out who collared you in the first place. Though an idiot, you're useful for that." His flippant words stiffened the air, causing a halting tension as Hoshino snapped her gaze towards the doorway, eyes wide in surprise. She abruptly stood up.

Minigeshi stood behind him carrying the case notes, but Hoshino barely saw him instead she blinked as if determining reality. It was real. Before her stood Sasazuka, with his usual half-smirk that she missed so much. His hair was the same, in fact everything about him was the same. She let out a breath of relief while also growing hot, _furious._ She didn't know what to do, but instinctively she took a step towards him, watching his flippant demeanour waver slightly in surprise before he resumed his normal conniving expression.

Sasazuka let out a sigh, like he was already exhausted by her, "I see you haven't changed." He stated in his usual tone, were it not for the small hint of relief Hoshino had grown to recognize. She watched his eyes soften slightly and it infuriated her. She didn't know if she wanted to hold him or hit him.

A loud crack rang through the small room. She wanted to hit him.

Hoshino's hand stung and she stomped out of the room, ignoring the shocked expressions and low whistle from Mineo. She needed air.

Sasazuka stood motionless, the side of his cheek throbbing from the impact, his eyes were wide in surprise before he comprehended what occurred.

"Shut up, idiot." He bit towards Mineo before giving a curt "tsk" and turning to the side, sulking away from the group to sit at his computer desk. Almost immediately his attentions were turned to his laptop, his fingers tapping away in blatant frustration. He watched bitterly as Yanagi spring from his seat and out towards the door and he caught himself sulking some more. _What is this, jealousy?_ He thought to himself his eyes narrowing before he 'tsk'd' once more and turned his attentions elsewhere.

Mineo looked around at the awkwardness, Sasazuka had a hurt expression on his face which really confused him. He turned his attention towards Morioka and Minegishi, "I'll take the case notes, maybe it's best if we met up later." They both eagerly agreed before bidding polite goodbyes and heading out.

Okazaki looked on, smiling to himself, thinking he could try stirring the pot _just_ a little. After all, Hoshino was his dear friend and he saw the pain she felt at Sasazuka's disappearance with his own eyes. He'd tried his best to protect her heart, and he was always a sore loser.

He walked up to Sasazuka, who was pretending not to notice him. "Well that certainly didn't go as expected." Okazaki said with a brilliant smile, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Don't worry about Cat too much, Yanagi will talk her down." He empathized Yanagi's name, watching as Sasazuku's hands tightened around the computer mouse.

"Why would I worry about that idiot?" Sasazuka bit out, annoyed.

"Well, why else would you come back?" Okazaki replied, as if it was the simplest thing, mock curiosity lacing his words that caused Takeru to want to barf.

Takeru did not deny it instead asking, "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Sasazuka seethed, finally drawing piercing eyes towards Okazaki who smiled at him in response, but his eyes were cold. Chillingly, so.

"Hm?" Okazaki thought for a moment, drawing his finger to his chin cutely, "I'm supposed to be protecting Miss. Hoshino, but Yanagi can take care of it." He dismissed the suggestion with a blatant, nonchalant wave.

Sasazuka stood up, thoroughly annoyed. "I'm going to the roof." He announced before hastily picking up his laptop and storming out the door. Leaving a smiling Okazaki and a very confused Enomoto in the room.

Hoshino felt the prickle of tears against her eyes and a familiar heartache swell in her chest. _Why did he come back?_ She thought to herself. She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss him, but why did it take a crisis for him to come back. _How long has he been here? Why didn't he say anything? Does he still have feelings for me?_ Hoshino's mind swirled as she tried to focus on her breathing. That's when he heard the the faint taps of shoes behind her and felt warm arms encircle around her.

"It's ok." Yanagi whispered into her ear, it was soothing and calming. She turned around and melted into his embrace as faint, hot tears trickled down her cheeks. "It's ok." Yanagi repeated, holding her tight to his chest. He hated seeing her upset, especially over another. He knew this reunion would come eventually, and he vowed to himself to protect her.

 _I'm here._ He held her until her tears stopped before holding her hand and leading her back inside.

Hoshino pretended to look over the case notes when Sasazuka arrived back inside. She purposefully avoided his eye contact and didn't move until he was settled in his seat and she heard the soft tink of his keyboard.

"What do you think?" Yanagi asked her, scrutinizing her expression when she finally put down the folder.

She was more confident in her investigation abilities now, no longer being the rookie she was. So it was for the good of the case and partly to show off that she no longer needed Sasazuka that she spoke with confidence. "Well," She tipped her finger to her chin in thought, baiting the team before continuing, "considering this is the first incident this time there's no linkages between cases we can find. But using the incidents from 2 years ago I don't think there's any notable linkages either, aside from the overall goal of rebirth."

"Why do you think that?" Mineo interjected, apparently, he was under the assumption it was all the same.

"This incident is different. There's no coins, no roman numerals, and they didn't bait us to race against the clock and arrive on time to save him. The murder was much more hostile, the man was killed blatantly on air, and they gave no details as to why. Aside from being a sinner. It's a lot vaguer than the last incidents… 2 years, ago each recording always had a sort of 'lesson', like the revenge plot against police, stalking, bullying, etc…" Hoshino trailed off a little, thinking. "Before I continue, what do we know about the priest?" Hoshino asked to the group.

"Found in an abandoned apartment complex. You're right that there were no trademarks to tie it to an X-day incident aside from the recording. The victim was Hiro Toshi, a well known catholic priest. He has no known records on file, and was generally well liked. Except, when I dug into his other records its noted that he transferred between churches quite a bit, though there was no explanation why." Sasazuka cut in in a monotone, devoid of emotion and presenting only facts.

Hoshino fed off his timely response to engrossed in her line of thought to dismiss him, "right, so we know that there's something suspicious – possibly the sin that was mentioned. So it seems that this recording wants us to investigate into the 'sin' specifically. Why was this man targeted?" Hoshino thought to herself a moment before stating with confidence. "I think it's a test. He's baiting us to uncover the truth."

"Yeah but, if it doesn't have any of the trademarks, can we be sure it's even x-day, it could be a copycat." Mineo piped up.

"No. It's not." Hoshino retorted rather abruptly causing the others to look her direction in curiosity. She got a sudden chill, leaving goosebumps on her arms.

"Why?"

"The voice is the same." Hoshino nodded to herself. "This is definitely a test. It's a game to him now, we uncovered Adonis before so he's challenging us to do it again. This time I don't have a collar, but he's still using us… except it's civilians lives on the line, not mine." Hoshino's theory drifted off into sadness, the urgency of the situation weighing down her words.

Yanagi nodded solemnly and placed a hand on hers in comfort before turning to the group, "I agree. The sole motive here isn't revenge anymore. It's pride. This is definitely a game now… And we can't do anything but play along for now."

Hoshino spoke again, but this time in a small whisper that the rest of the group had to strain to hear. "I think there's something else."

"What?" Mineo asked, brow furrowed as he tried to wrap his head around everything.

"I don't have any facts or evidence yet, but last time there were multiple assailants, working like puppets and multiple leaders – which we disbanded. I doubt the leaders would be ok with acting on pride alone and willing the risk of getting caught for it. It also goes against their beliefs of justice. So… I don't really think this is Adonis anymore. I think this is a sole operation." She paused for a minute to let that idea sink in.

"We are after one person this time. It's got to be this Zero person, and it's got to be the same person that collared me." Hoshino had a pained look on her face at the realization and spoke shakily. "So… I'm still a target… and the lives at stake are even bigger." A chill raked her body momentarily.

Hoshino heard the crinkling of a bag before she smelt the sweet smell of sugar, she looked up to see a donut, held out in front of her. Takeru's arm was outstretched towards her, his face looking away, blushing slightly.

"I think you're right." He muttered surprisingly without malice, and then shook the donut a little to get her to take it. "Here."

 _A peace offering._

After a moment of consideration, Hoshino took the donut and nodded in thanks.

Sasazuka let out a breath he didn't realize he'd held. "Don't think you're any less stupid for figuring that out. Stupid cat." He stated, watching her nibble on the donut. He didn't try and hide the relief in his voice from her. The others wouldn't pick up on it anyways.

"Where's mine?" Mineo broke in, ruining the moment.

"You didn't do anything, idiot. None for you." Sasazuka snapped back, grinning smugly.

"Who are you calling idiot, seaweed head?" Mineo retorted, rising from his seat in anger.

"Enough. Both of you." Yanagi cut in and Hoshino couldn't help but smirk at the familiarity of the situation. A smirk that both Yanagi and Takeru caught – causing them to feel a rush of relief.

"Hoshino, I agree with your theory. You're pretty cut out for detective work. Let's work off that and dig into the priest a little more. Here's the plan…" Yanagi began, sinking into the details with the group like the past 2 years hadn't existed.


End file.
